mcp-server-ads
A powerful MCP server for the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) — the primary database for astrophysics literature. Search papers, traverse citation graphs forward and backward, export BibTeX, compute metrics, and manage reading lists, all through natural language. Works with Claude Desktop/Code, Cursor, OpenAI Codex, and any MCP-compatible client.
Provides 11 tools, 3 resources, and 3 prompt workflows with token-efficient output designed for LLM consumption.
Quick Start
Get an ADS API Token
- Create a free account at NASA ADS
- Log in and go to Settings > API Token
- Click Generate a new key and copy the token
Prerequisites
Installation
# Install from GitHub with uv (recommended)
uv tool install git+https://github.com/cbyrohl/mcp-server-ads
# Or with pip
pip install git+https://github.com/cbyrohl/mcp-server-ads
Claude Desktop
{
"mcpServers": {
"ads": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/cbyrohl/mcp-server-ads", "mcp-server-ads"],
"env": {
"ADS_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token-here"
}
}
}
}
Claude Code
claude mcp add --scope user mcp-server-ads -e ADS_API_TOKEN=your-api-token-here -- uvx --from git+https://github.com/cbyrohl/mcp-server-ads mcp-server-ads
Use --scope project instead to share the configuration via .mcp.json in your repo, or omit --scope for local (current project only).
Codex CLI
codex mcp add mcp-server-ads --env ADS_API_TOKEN=your-api-token-here -- uvx --from git+https://github.com/cbyrohl/mcp-server-ads mcp-server-ads
This installs to ~/.codex/config.toml (user-level, available across all projects). For project-scoped config, add the entry to .codex/config.toml in your project root instead.
Running from Source
git clone https://github.com/cbyrohl/mcp-server-ads.git
cd mcp-server-ads
uv sync
# Run the server
ADS_API_TOKEN=your-token uv run mcp-server-ads
Configuration
| Environment Variable | Required | Default | Description |
|---|
ADS_API_TOKEN | Yes | — | API token from ADS |
ADS_API_URL | No | https://api.adsabs.harvard.edu | API base URL (override for SciX) |
Tools (11)
Search
| Tool | Description |
|---|
ads_search | Search the ADS database with full query syntax, including citations(), references(), similar(), trending(), and reviews() operators |
ads_bigquery | Search within a specific set of bibcodes (up to 2000) |
Export & Metrics
| Tool | Description |
|---|
ads_export | Export records in 18+ formats (BibTeX, AASTeX, RIS, CSL, etc.) |
ads_metrics | Compute citation metrics (h-index, g-index, citation counts, etc.) |
Libraries
| Tool | Description |
|---|
ads_library | Manage libraries: list, get, create, edit, or delete saved paper collections |
ads_library_documents | Manage documents and notes within a library: add/remove papers, set operations (union, intersection, difference, copy, empty), and note CRUD |
Discovery & Resolution
| Tool | Description |
|---|
ads_resolve_links | Resolve available links for a paper (full text, data, etc.) |
ads_object_search | Translate astronomical object names to ADS queries (SIMBAD/NED) |
ads_citation_helper | Suggest papers that should be cited alongside a given set |
ads_resolve_reference | Resolve free-text reference strings to ADS bibcodes |
Network Visualization
| Tool | Description |
|---|
ads_network | Generate author collaboration or paper citation networks from a set of papers |
Resources
| URI | Description |
|---|
ads://fields | Complete reference of searchable and returnable ADS fields |
ads://syntax | ADS query syntax quick-reference with examples |
ads://rate-limits | Live API rate-limit status |
Prompts
| Prompt | Description |
|---|
literature_review | Multi-step literature review workflow for a research topic |
citation_analysis | Citation network analysis workflow for a set of papers |
generate_bibliography | Generate a formatted bibliography from search or bibcodes |
Similar Projects
This server focuses on broad ADS API coverage, token-efficient output, and integration-tested reliability. Compared to arXiv-based tools, ADS enables forward/backward citation traversal (citations and references of any paper), though it is focused on astrophysics.
Development
# Install dev dependencies
uv sync
# Run tests
uv run pytest
# Lint
uv run ruff check src/ tests/
# Run the server locally
ADS_API_TOKEN=your-token uv run mcp-server-ads
License
MIT